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Thanks guys for all your feedback and suggestions.
@Rose_Mountainz - thanks, but I don't really think my pieces are GD worthy. They may be unique and very different, but I'm afraid qualitiy-wise I'm no on-par with GD stuff.

I really listen to all of you (and the guys on my blog, at WIP and Warseer), and so I decided to have two armament versions.
The Nighthawk/Owl on the elevator (this one) will have the 6 AA-HK-Missiles in addition to the 4 nose machine guns, while the second model will have the two Punishers and a Hellfire AtG Missile in addition to the nose armament.
So the two different wing types will look like this - I think I will add an Ammo Drum for the Punisher mounted on the engine housing.

So this is how the completed wings look:
The outer round pieces are the secondary thrusters for landing and take-off (or hovering). Also note the patching on the right wing - Here I had a major hick-up while sanding and I decided to cover it up as a patched battle damage. relatively crude, thick metal, larger rivets - it will also be bare metal in the painted version.

This is how the wings look in the folded position on the elevator

Then I worked on completing the cockpit, and for this I created the gunners station:

And with all the owl-talk about the name - I think I will settle on STRIX (thanks ashhammer) - I remembered a painting I did half a lifetime ago.
It depicts a 1939 Lagonda "LG Rapide" and an attacking Owl. I did this during my early airbrush times - September 1991 says the signature - where most of my work was still with a regular brush and the airbrush was mainly used for highlights and the background.

Anyhow, I think I want to use this owl for the side wings of the rear fuselage (just like I did with the tiger face for the CHARON).
And maybe a black silouetted version over a red circle as the unit logo?
Who knows...

I hope you like the armament solution and STRIX for the name.
Cheers
Klaus

From the very beginning Dencara was a neglected world, hot, dusty, and without any real industry.
Due to this pathetic economical situation Dencara is Aptus Non - despite the now flourishing economy.
Caused by the unusual composition and arrangement of the systems planets, Dencara 5 is subject to repetitive asteroid and comet impacts, which are pulled into the system by the gravitation of the Dencara 4 giant. But it is exactly these impacts that do supply Dencara 5 with its precious ores. Most of these ores are stooped by the nomadic Scarabs.
And so, today Ore deliveries from Dencara are very treasured on the forge worlds in and around the Segmentum Ultima.
If it wasn't for its very high quality and precious ores, the Dencara system would have long been forgotten.

Really good work on everything. I love it when people who have the talent to do this stuff, go all out.

I have a minor point of critique if you don't mind though. The Athena is a little light on AA capabilities. A couple Hydra turrets are nice, but Aircraft Carriers of old relied on more then just flak cannons. They had hundreds of machine guns surrounding the ship.

The Flak Cannons were better at taking out slow moving heavy bombers. Fighter aircraft would have been a lot harder to hit with them. Maybe installing a few point defence stubbers around the ship would give it a bit more of an authentic look.

djones520 wrote:Really good work on everything. I love it when people who have the talent to do this stuff, go all out.

I have a minor point of critique if you don't mind though. The Athena is a little light on AA capabilities. A couple Hydra turrets are nice, but Aircraft Carriers of old relied on more then just flak cannons. They had hundreds of machine guns surrounding the ship.

The Flak Cannons were better at taking out slow moving heavy bombers. Fighter aircraft would have been a lot harder to hit with them. Maybe installing a few point defence stubbers around the ship would give it a bit more of an authentic look.

Not to worry Well from the provided images it may be not obvious, but there are some twin Stubbers (3ea) on the Island

There is also a NEMESIS CWIS system on the rear side of the island (just above the Hydra)

On the nose (and also on the rear balcony) there are 2ea Twin Autocannons

and under the jump deck there is a combined tripe Punisher/6 AA-Missile launcher turret

Together with the new STRIX interceptor VTOL plane as CAP, I think this should be plenty to ward off any Ork attackers Cheers
Klaus

Automatically Appended Next Post: Oh, I just realized I forgot the two quad-las-can's under the forward deck:

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2010/09/15 15:51:58

Someone in the other forums mentioned the seat belts ... and he's right, they (seat belts) could be more detailed, but they will be hardly ever seen, as I hope that the overall model plus the ATHENA around it AND the (female) Pilot and Gunner, together with a very special mechanic (Agatha Clay anyone?) will draw the attention away from the belts :-)

But back to the STRIX.
I completed the canopy

and added some details to it

then I finished the body with some additional details like hatches

and started to rivet

and finally mounted the wings

Still some details left, but pretty much complete.
As usual more images in my blog Cheers

Hello everyone,
sorry for the lack of updates.
First my trip to the US, then the re-design considerations for the ATHENA, and finally some serious kidney issues last week, kept me very real-live-busy, and left me little time for my projects.

So lets talk about the ATHENA.
As discussed in the last post I'm not quite sure how to proceed with the ATHENA and what her role will be. I am considering to build a cmpletely new superstructure with a small VTOL deck and a new weapons layout.
See the comments section of my blog:

Since this will have quite some impact I will take my time to consider things and evaluate the involved work.
It will be fun and I really look forward to it, but I don't want to rush into the wrong direction. So please bear with me and be patient.

But you all know me, and know I can't be without a project for longer than 10 minutes :tongue:
So I did start something new...(please be aware that the following pieces were build over the course of a week, not in one day)

So here's the start:

A Zeppelin? Cool!

Aehm, with tracks?

As you can see in this sketch, there's more to it

Ork SEALZ, integrate with "Defense of Xantium" diorama...?
Yep, that's the idea.
An Ork version of a Mole The plan is to have a diorama with the Xantium defense on top, while beneath it, one can see the lower, underground level of the city, with the mole breaking through and an Ork raid commando - the SEALZ - attacking some defenders there.
One half of the mole will be open, so one can see the interior, while the other will be close, so one can see the outside.

For your recollection, this is the Defense of Xantium diorama.

**
OK, so the mole - current code name is "Roly Poly" - will cut its way through the rocks and ground via some plasma blasters, which simply melt the ground in front of the mole.
The tracks will then move the device forward. For this it will have tracks at the bottom, the two sides, as well as the top.

The Roly Poly will consist of 3 sections. The forward "attack bay" that will contain the SEALZ, the central "bridge" with the Capt'n, the Navigator, and the Sonar man, as well as the rear "Engines" room with the Mek and an assisitant. I decided to use a full Ork crew, not Groots.

For this engine room I have an image in my head. Some old, dark WWII submarine, as seen in the movie "The Boat"...

Then I started to build the tracks for the right side

And this is as far as I got
I hope you like this project and I look forward to your feedback and suggestions.
As said, the project actually belongs to my "Stachelnschweinz", so no Greek names, but never the less, I'm still looking for names:
The vehicel itself
Captn
Navigator
Sornar ops
Mek
Engine assistant
and maybe the boss of the SEALZ...
Thanks
Klaus

Amazing work, all over everywhere in this plog.
Obviously the craftsmanship here is extraordinary. But what I like just as much is your design aesthetic. The look and feel of these tanks and flyers is unique and wonderful, but also very "40K" and believable -- in a blunt, crude, "grim distance of the far future" kind of way. It looks sci-fi sleek, but also brutally industrial. Well done.

Thanks to Da Masta Cheef "Wotwuzdat" will be the name of the Sonar Operator! The name is pure gold! Yes, this will be his name

Well, todays update is a bit shorter than usual as progress is a bit slow.
I closed the lower part of the right hull side.

and prepared the two upper tracks

As usual the tracks are handmade

Quite some work, but I really like the result

Here's another scale shot with the diorama

And another sketch of how I envision the underground scene:
The Dirtmuncha will be breaking (actually melting) through the walls of the lower city, opening its jaws to release the SEALZ.
There will be some dead Imps and a Dreadnought against the SEALZ leaving the Dirtmuncha via an Assault Ramp - of course there will also be some dead Orks on the ground too.
As mentioned in the previous post I'm fancying the idea of doing some OSL painting, with muzzle flashes and stuff...
But first I have to finish the mole and its interior Cheers
Klaus

"Squat Hulk- in space no one knows you no longer exist." - Gitzbitah
"Now you're just being silly, everyone knows red paint tastes fasta." - monkeytroll
"Both servers are on different continents so space meteors or thermonuclear war will not be enough take out dakka hopefully." - legoburner
Please remember to tick the "Disable Voting" box, if the pics you are uploading do not deserve votes (ie. early WIP, blurry pics, batreps, ...) Thanks in advance.

how do you achieve this "brocken" look with plastic card i often see when looking at scratchmade orc pieces? the pieces have a soooo orky feel about them eaven in wip stage so that it is so easy to see the orc contruction in unpainted version...

the broken look is generated, by shaving off all the corners of the plasticard.
really taking the knife at an angle and cut pieces out of it
and repeating this over and over
you get those really ragged edges

With this the build takes considerably longer than a clean standard IG build, but I think the result is well worth it Cheers
Klaus

Automatically Appended Next Post: Hey guys,

I was finally able to complete the build for the engine room, by finishing the outside and closing all the little holes and gaps on the inside

After that I primed the engine room

and after priming it was time to re-arrange my desk from "Ork-Build-Chaos" to "Paint Station Order"

I applied all the base colors
also in the engine room
ready for inking and washing.

Finally I took a reference shot for the lighting, as I would like to try OSL for the first time...
...I'm still not sure if I can pull it off with OSL, as I never did it before, but the tight and dark confines of the engine room, as well as the well defined light source (just one light bulb on the ceiling), this is probably the best chance I'll ever get for OSL.
So if have some experience to share, links to recommend, or just some "good luck" to wish, let me know Cheers
Klaus

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2010/10/25 10:52:52

thanks claus for your explenation. i will try that out in the future. gave my an insight or two^^

and you can bet it is worth to work abit longer on something rather tan a rushed crappy job. which you´re not able to do so as i´ve seen at all^^. so i cross my fingers for your OSL attempt. the benefits of your work we hopefully will see^^.